Hawaii | Page 536 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

March 20, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Honolulu Hale

The debate on the site of City Hall waged in Honolulu …

“The plan of having all of the public buildings located in one part of the city is an excellent one, but the general convenience of the public should be taken into consideration.”

“The Honolulu Hale site is very central and I should like to see the City Hall located there.” (ZK Myers, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 15, 1909)

“I think that the ideal site for the City Hall would be the lots now occupied by Honolulu Hale and the post office. When the Federal building has been completed, it should be possible to secure the post office site, and the two pieces of property, thrown in together, would furnish an ideal location for a convenient and imposing City Hall.”

“If the post office property should not be available, I fear that the Honolulu Hale land alone would not give sufficient room.” (HO Smith, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 15, 1909)

“Put the City Hall alongside the Federal building. I think Honolulu Hale an excellent site, but it is too small. This city is going to grow. The City Hall should be centrally located. Have it downtown by all means. … I like the Honolulu Hale site, but, as I said, I’m afraid that it is too small.” (AL Castle, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 15, 1909)

But, the Honolulu Hale site they are suggesting was not the site of Honolulu Hale that we know today (on the corner of King and Punchbowl.)

The first Honolulu Hale was on Merchant Street (it’s now a park-like lot on the Diamond Head side of the Kamehameha V Post Office Building.)

Kamehameha III is said to have built this government office building in 1835. (The building was interchangeably called Honolulu Hale and Honolulu House.)

“All of the business of the Hawaiian government was transacted there, and the life of the town centered in that neighborhood to a very considerable extent.”

In 1847, “It was occupied by government offices, the Custom House, Department of Education, Treasury Department and Department of Interior occupied the four corner rooms of the building on the lower floor, while the Department of Foreign Affairs was on the upper floor.” (Carter; Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 30, 1906)

The government Executive Ministers’ offices were a short walk from the palace (which were situated on the same grounds as the present ʻIolani Palace (completed in 1882.) The palace was initially a home called Hanailoia (built in July 1844,) renamed Hale Aliʻi in 1845 and used as the palace.)

At the former Honolulu Hale, an arched gateway served as the entrance to the Executive Offices property. Dr Gerrit P Judd, Minister of Finance was on the ground floor. Upstairs, Robert C Wyllie had his Foreign Minister office. (Dye)

The Kingdom of Hawai‘i instituted a postal system in 1851, issuing 5 and 13 cent stamps for letters and a 2 cent stamp for papers. Operated as a private concession for many years, the postal service expanded its work in the 1860s. David Kalakaua, later Hawaii’s monarch, ran the service from 1862 to 1865.

Later, with growing community and business needs, the postal authorities were using part of Honolulu Hale. A partition divided the ʻEwa or North side, which was used by the Post Office, while the Waikiki or South side was used by the Whitney stationery business and also the editorial office of the Pacific Commercial Advertiser. (HHS)

As postal operations grew, in 1871, the Kamehameha V Post Office at the corner of Merchant and Bethel Streets was constructed and the Post Office folks moved out of Honolulu Hale. In 1900, the old Post Office became a unit of the US Postal System.

(Where the Kamehameha V Post Office Building now sits (adjacent to the former Honolulu Hale) was a 2-story coral structure that housed the ‘Polynesian’ (the Hawaiian Government’s English language weekly paper.)) (Dye)

On June 12, 1857, a marine telegraph was put into operation on Puʻu O Kaimuki (Telegraph Hill) behind Diamond Head. This device was actually a kind of semaphore designed to send visual (rather than electric) signals to the post office in downtown Honolulu when an approaching ship was sighted. (Schmitt)

It was initially set up by the local Post Master to time the landing of ships to collect the mail, it also served as a means to notify the community of what ship was landing, especially those who service the ships and their passengers.

Honolulu Hale on Merchant Street was fitted with a marine lookout and a tall semaphore, making its signals accessible to a larger segment of the population.

“When the telephone system got into working order, the lookout station was moved to a position on Diamond Head which gave a view further along the channel, because it was no longer necessary for the station to be in full view of the city.” (Hawaiian Star, February 10, 1899)

While the debate was waged on where to put City Hall in 1909 (as noted in the initial paragraphs, here,) it wasn’t until 1929 that the Spanish mission style, Dickey-designed Honolulu Hale was completed at the corner of King and Punchbowl street.

A 1950 map of Downtown Honolulu shows that the former Honolulu Hale/Honolulu House site was used as a parking lot for the Police Department (that was situated diagonally across the Merchant-Bethel streets intersection.) As noted, today it is a park-like area.

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Honolulu_Hale_by_Paul_Emmert-1853

Honolulu Hale-governmental building of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1843-1853 and then post office from 1853-1871

Near (R) Snow Bldg-2-story bldg is PCA-Honolulu Hale and Kamehameha V Post Office-PP-38-4-013-1870s

Merchant St. looking toward Waikiki-PPWD-8-7-009-1885

Looking mauka up Kaahumanu Street to former Honolulu Hale with semaphore on top

Kamehameha_V_Post_Office-Hnl Hale on right(WC)

Former Honolulu Hale Site

Honolulu_Hale-Merchant_Street-Sorenson-Reg2339 (1906)

March 19, 2015 by Peter T Young 19 Comments

Oliver Holmes

Oliver Holmes was born November 2, 1777 in Kingston, Plymouth, Massachusetts; his parents were Simeon Holmes and Mercy Weston. Oliver is a direct descendant of John Alden, reportedly the first man to step off the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock (and signor of the Mayflower Compact.)

Holmes left New Bedford to trade in the Pacific and arrived in the Islands on the Margaret in 1793 and became one of the first dozen foreigners (and one of the first Americans) to live in Hawaiʻi.

Oliver Holmes lived on the island of Oʻahu. After the victory of Kamehameha on Oʻahu (1795,) Holmes married Mahi Kalanihoʻoulumokuikekai, daughter of a high chief of Koʻolau who was killed in the battle of the Nuʻuanu Pali. (Kelley)

Isaac Davis, who had been with Kamehameha since 1790, spent a good deal of time on Oʻahu after the Battle of Nuʻuanu (1795,) and as early as 1798 he was ‘supreme’ at Honolulu, handling all trade with visiting ships.

Holmes made his living managing his land holdings on Oʻahu and Molokai, providing provisions to visiting ships. (Hammatt) To supplement that, in 1809, he got involved with a distillery in Kewalo – this was the infancy of the short-lived rum distillation from the local sugar cane. (Greer)

Holmes was an assistant to the Governor of Oʻahu for a long time. (Land Commission Testimony) After Davis’ death (1810,) Holmes impressed visitors as the most important man on Oʻahu, next to the King. Holmes was addressed as Aliʻi Homo (Chief Holmes.) (Daws)

John Young, Isaac Davis, and Oliver Holmes were all governors of Oʻahu. Kamehameha’s advisors told him not to appoint an important chief over Oʻahu in the king’s absence, for he might rebel against him.

Davis served as governor of Oʻahu from 1795 to 1810; following Davies’ death, when Kamehameha was on Hawaiʻi, Holmes was in charge of foreign trade at Oʻahu; when the king was on Oʻahu, Young would manage affairs on Hawaiʻi. (Klieger)

“At the time Kamehameha I went back to Hawaiʻi (1812) he appointed (Oliver Holmes) to arrange settlements of disputes (hoʻonoho e hoʻoponopono i na mea hihia); (Holmes) built a house and made a wall at this vacant place and lived there. … it (was) fenced, having 6 houses on it”. (Land Commission Testimony)

The former Holmes Honolulu property was on a site on the mauka side of King Street, midway between Fort and Nuʻuanu Streets (Bethel Street now cuts right through the former Holmes property.) He had acquired it in about 1811 from Kamehameha I for consideration of services and friendship.

Holmes, among other foreigners, asked the Protestant missionaries to help educate their children; “… we were encouraged in our efforts to commence a school by several residents, some wishing their wives, and others their children to be instructed.”

“Among these, were Messrs. Holmes and Navarro (American), Marin (Spanish), Harbottle, Woodland and Beckley (English) and Allen, a refugee from New York slavery before its abolition…” (Bingham)

Holmes and Mahi had six surviving children: Hannah, George, Polly (Sarah Pauline,) Charlotte, Mary and Jane (another, Benjamin, died in infancy.)

Hannah first married William Heath Davis (Sr;) their son, William Heath “Kanaka” Davis, Jr (1822 – 1909,) was a merchant and trader, and was one of the founders of “New Town” San Diego in 1850. Hannah later married John Coffin Jones Jr – Jones was the first US Agent for Commerce and Seamen and the ﬁrst ofﬁcial US representative in the Hawaiian Islands.

Click HERE for a prior post on William Heath Davis Jr.

It appears that Polly had a few husbands: Capt. Isaiah Lewis, Samuel F Mills, Washington Crocker and George Colman – and several children. Charlotte married Charles Hammett (Hammatt.) Mary married English fur trader Captain John Bancroft.

Another of Oliver Holmes’ daughters, Jane, married Nathan Spear; Boston-born Spear came to Monterey in 1831 and became one of California’s pioneer merchants. Five years later he opened the first store in the new village of Yerba Buena (now known as San Francisco.)

Holmes died August 6, 1825 at his property on King Street. The image shows the location of the Oliver Holmes property in downtown Honolulu.

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Downtown_Honolulu-Land_Commision_Awards-Map-1847-portion-Holmes Property

March 15, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

North Shore Na Kiʻi Pohaku

Oʻahu’s North Shore is seasonally dynamic. During relatively calm summer conditions, the beaches are generally flat and wide.

However, with big winter waves, we often read of homeowner concerns for erosion of the beach and homes and associated improvements at risk.

In 1969, the “swell of the century” (the result of three overlapping North Pacific storms) produced 30-foot surf. At midnight on December 1, hundreds of residents were evacuated – sixty North Shore homes were destroyed or badly damaged.

Last year, when 25-foot waves rolled in, coastal erosion near the North Shore’s Rocky Point was considered the worst in decades. (Fletcher; KITV)

Scientists are forecasting that coastal erosion will worsen in the coming years, leaving beachfront improvements increasingly vulnerable. (Cocke)

Rather than focus on this unfortunate situation right now, let’s look at a bit of history that is periodically exposed (rarely, not every year) when the winter swells crash onto the Oʻahu North Shore.

Let’s look back.

Hawaiian was a spoken language but not a written language. Historical accounts were passed down orally, through chants and songs.

This doesn’t suggest however, that the Hawaiians did not communicate through “written” symbols – Hawaiians also communicated through na kiʻi pōhaku, petroglyphs.

Petroglyph is a word that comes from the Greek words “petros,” for rock, and “gypheian,” to carve. Thus, petroglyphs are rock carvings.

Petroglyphs occur throughout the world. Certain shapes and forms appear to be universal. A petroglyph of a man or dog in Sweden looks just like a petroglyph of a man or dog in Hawai‘i.

It is probable that the first settlers to Hawai‘i started carving in the rocks after they arrived here. With no other writing, the ancient Hawaiians used petroglyphs as forms of communication, with the gods, spirits and others who viewed them.

Hawaiian petroglyphs are more often found near or at junctions of trails, or areas when ‘mana’ (cosmic power or force) was found.

It was this mana that was supposed to be absorbed by the petroglyphs to insure the efficacy of the spiritual rite or act of magic along Oʻahu’s North Shore, when some of the sand is washed from the beach, a plot of petroglyphs is exposed near the shoreline.

Weathered and worn by the wave and abrasive action of the moving sand, once hidden petroglyphs, carved into the smooth lava, are periodically exposed. More than 70 images are in the petroglyph field – mostly human and dog figures.

Hard surface petroglyph carving was done with a stone, repeatedly smashing the stone against the surface. Designs on smoother walls in caves can be scraped with a pointed rock.

I want to extend a special thanks to “Ski” Kwiatkowski for his assistance and information on petroglyphs provided in his book “Na Kiʻi Pohaku”.

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North Shore Petroglyphs-(seandavey)

North Shore Petroglyphs-((c)MikeKrzywonski)

North-Shore Petroglyph (Ching)

North Shore Petroglyphs-((c)MikeKrzywonski)

North Shore Petroglyph-scottsharick

North Shore Petroglyphs-((c)MikeKrzywonski)

North Shore Petroglyph-(tripadvisor)

North Shore Petroglyphs-scottsharick

March 13, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Albert Kualiʻi Brickwood Lyman

Born in Paʻauhau on the Hāmākua Coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, on May 5, 1885, Albert Kualiʻi Brickwood Lyman was the 13th-son of Rufus Anderson and Rebecca Hualani (Ahung) Lyman, who was the fifth child of the Rev and Mrs David Belden Lyman, missionaries who came to Hawaiʻi in 1832.

Lyman attended Kamehameha School for Boys and graduated from Punahou School in 1906. Lyman was one of three brothers to attend West Point (Clarence and Charles;) each was appointed to West Point by Prince Jonah Kūhio Kalanianaʻole.

In 1909, Lyman, nicknamed “Queen Lil” from his brother, Clarence, who preceded him there, graduated from West Point ranked 15th in his class of 103 – classmate George S Patton, Jr was ranked 46th.

His early Army years were spent in various parts of the continent and abroad (with a short stint in the Islands, including construction work at “Little Shafter” and military engineering in all parts of the Island.) He had 25-assignments in 12-states and 4-overseas posts (Panama, France, Cuba and Philippines.)

In 1922, Major Lyman was assigned to duty in Havana, Cuba, where he served as military attaché. From Cuba, Major Lyman returned to Washington, DC where he was in charge of the military intelligence information bureau.

Previously serving at Schofield Barracks as a junior officer (1913-1916,) he returned there in May 1940, where as a full colonel he was commanding officer of the 3d Engineer Combat Battalion.

On March 13, 1942, Lyman was named Hawaiian Department engineer, an important post in connection with the building of island defenses.

All Engineer operations within the Hawaiian Department were under his direction. Fortifications were rushed to completion; new airfields were built in record time; while, at the same time, distant and far-flung Pacific Islands were rapidly converted into military bases.

On August 11, 1942, Lyman was the first native Hawaiian (and Asian, he was also part-Chinese) to attain the rank of general or admiral in the US Armed Forces. He died suddenly of a heart attack on August 13, 1942, two days after his promotion.

(The nomination was before the Senate for confirmation at the time General Lyman was stricken. The War Department decided to issue the officer’s commission to brigadier generalship dated prior to his death.)

On October 20, 1942, Brigadier General Lyman was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal “For exceptionally meritorious service in a position of great responsibility.”

“As Department Engineer, Hawaiian Department, from July 9, 1940 to August 12, 1942, he was responsible for the planning and construction of projects totaling many millions of dollars.”

“He displayed exceptional organizing ability, excellent judgment, and a superior quality of leadership in the handling of military and civilian construction forces engaged in that work, resulting in finishing many of the necessary defense projects far in advance of the anticipated completion dates.”

“His untiring effort, unceasing devotion to duty, and inspiring leadership in the execution of seemingly impossible tasks were of great value to the Army.”

On April 19, 1943, by Joint Resolution, the Hawaiʻi Territorial legislature changed the name of Hilo Airport to General Lyman Field.

(In 1989, the airport’s name was changed to Hilo International Airport and the main passenger terminal was named for General Lyman. The terminal was rededicated to Lyman on September 29, 1993.) (Lots of information here is from West Point, Army Corps and hawaii-gov.)

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General_Albert_Lyman

Army Distinguished Service Medal

Lyman Display – Hilo Airport

Hilo Airport, August 12, 1941

Lyman Display – Hilo Airport

Albert_KB_Lyman

David_Lyman,_Sarah_Lyman_and_children,_Hilo,_in_1853

Lyman_House (Lyman Museum and Mission House)

March 11, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Walter Chamberlain Peacock

Walter Chamberlain (WC) Peacock was born in in 1858 in Lancaster, England. After a short stay in New Zealand, he arrived in the Islands in about 1881. (Sullivan)

Shortly after arriving, Peacock started a liquor business with George Freeth (Freeth’s son, George Douglas Freeth Jr, is noted as the father of California surfing.) (Whitcomb) By 1890 Freeth had departed and the firm became known as WC Peacock & Co.

In addition to selling liquor at wholesale, Peacock also ran a string of saloons in Honolulu – Pacific, Cosmopolitan and Royal. A notable remnant of Peacock’s enterprises is the Royal Saloon at the corner of Merchant and Nuʻuanu in downtown Honolulu. (Sullivan)

Since 1873, the property had been used as a hotel and saloon (apparently, the initial retail spirit license for it was issued to William Lowthian Green – Freeth’s father-in-law.) In 1884 the saloon was sold, then sold again between that year and 1886, when Peacock owned it. In its early years, the saloon was particularly popular with sailors, the Sailors’ Home being next door.

Peacock’s saloon was demolished for the widening of Merchant Street which took place in 1889. He temporarily moved his establishment to the corner of King and Nuʻuanu Streets. After the street was widened, Peacock constructed a new saloon in 1890, on the site of his earlier structure. (HABS)

Back in the reign of King Kalākaua, a building on the site was called the Hawaiian Steakhouse and Saloon, a place for businessmen, ships’ officers and royalty to gather for food, libations and cigars. (George) Another name for it was Royal Hotel. (It’s now home to Murphy’s.)

For a while, Peacock and his brother, Corbert Alfred Peacock, were involved in a farm implements business (disc ploughs) in Australia as WC Peacock and Bro. It was relatively short-lived (about 1899-1901.) Corbet ran the business in Australia for about 3 years and then returned to Hawaiʻi. (ozwrenches)

In the 1890s, Walter joined other Honolulu elite who constructed mansions along the Waikīkī shoreline, including James Campbell, Frank Hustace and William Irwin. The wealthy discovered the ultimate destination of Waikīkī.

Peacock also built his own a pier (Peacock Pier.) Nearby was an early commercial venture, the Long Branch Baths (offering sea bathing in Waikīkī’s waters.) Down the way, Liliʻuokalani also had her own pier.

Then, Peacock proposed another Hawaiʻi lasting legacy. In the late-1890s, with additional steamship lines to Honolulu, the visitor arrivals to Oʻahu were increasing. In 1896, Peacock proposed to build Waikīkī’s first major resort to provide a solution to the area’s main drawback – the lack of suitable accommodations on the beach.

The initial idea was to construct a number of airy cottages on the Peacock premises, where the surf is in many respects better than at any other point on the beach. The outlook, however, rapidly became so much improved that even more elaborate plans than had ever been thought of were finally adopted. (Thrum)

Peacock created a new company, Moana Hotel Company Ltd, and engaged the well-known architect Oliver G Trephagen to design the hotel. He arranged for his own house to be moved to accommodate the large building. (Sullivan)

The main hotel had 75-five rooms. This does not include the entire lower floor and the large Peacock cottage on the grounds. The lower, or first, floor of the hotel will be given over to a billiard parlor, saloon, office, library, reception parlor, etc.

It was planned to make a club house of the Peacock cottage until such time as it may be required for regular hotel purposes. The rooms on the second, third and fourth floors are large and are so joined together that they may be fitted in any number of manner for family or excursion parties.

Above the hotel proper is a central tower in which is a fifth floor, and above that is a covered roof garden. From the latter a perfect view was to be had of the sea and most of the city of Honolulu.

This roof garden is large enough for receptions and dancing parties. The hotel has its own electric plant, which will supply power and light. It will run the up-to-date elevator, furnish light throughout the buildings and grounds, give power to the laundry and speed the fans in the dining room. (Thrum)

The Moana Hotel officially opened on March 11, 1901. Designed in the old colonial style architecture of the period, it was the costliest, most elaborate and modern hotel building in the Hawaiian Islands at the time.

Each room on the three upper floors had a bathroom and a telephone – innovations for any hotel of the times. The hotel also had its own ice plant and electric generators.

In 1905, Peacock sold the hotel to Alexander Young, a prominent Honolulu businessman with other island hotel interests. After Young’s death in 1910, his estate continued to operate the hotel.

In 1918, five-story concrete additions were added to the original wooden structure changing the floor plan from a simple rectangle to the present H-shaped plan that encloses the Banyan Court on three sides.

In the center of the Moana’s courtyard stands a large Banyan tree. The Indian Banyan tree was planted in 1904 by Jared Smith, Director of the Department of Agriculture Experiment Station (about 7-feet at planting, it is now over 75-feet in height.)

The original 240-foot-long timber Peacock Pier (subsequently renamed Moana Pier) was taken down in 1931, due to its deterioration. (Wiegel)

In 1909, Peacock died at the age of 51. He was buried in the Oʻahu Cemetery in a section known as the “Peacock Plot.” His mother, Margaret, age 82, three years later would join him in the grave. Mother and son are memorialized on a joint headstone. (Sullivan)

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